


What have I got to lose?

by lovette11



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 06:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15768663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovette11/pseuds/lovette11
Summary: "Fuck no, this is like the 6th scandal I have had this freaking year. I am tired of being the 'school slut'. You got me into this mess, you're being my boyfriend." Tony crossed his arms stubbornly."I'm- What?" Bucky's eyes bulged like he was a cartoon, he gaped his mouth like a fish out of water. "Woah, woah, woah... You're cute and all but I'm not really the 'dating' type doll. Don't get me wrong, I am flattered but-""It's not gonna be freaking real." Tony argued.





	What have I got to lose?

Tony was not suited to high school life. He was barely suited to life in general, but right now, he was reconsidering taking up his dad's offer of starting M.I.T early just so that he could avoid all the high school cliches. Yet here he was, sat beneath the bleachers because some asshole kept spitting spitballs at him in the cafeteria.

He'd actually made it quite comfortable in the 2 weeks he had been eating lunch down here, he'd managed to steal a chair from outside one of the classrooms, admittedly it was missing a leg but that was nothing Tony couldn't fix with duct tape. He sat in front of his makeshift TV (his iPhone rested delicately between the bars of the bleacher seats) and pulled out the sandwich Jarvis had made for him, it was some sort of meatball concoction and Tony groaned as soon as he took a bite. Jarvis was the best.

Halfway though an episode of White Collar a ball came flying through the gap between the bleachers and landed to Tony's right, he jerked quickly, contemplating whether to throw it back out to the field or run. Turns out he didn't have time to make a decision because the next thing he knew he saw two pairs of cleats. He held his breath hoping that the guy would just pick up the soccer ball without coming underneath the bleachers, but today was obviously not Tony's lucky day because the guy ducked underneath the bars.

"What the fuck?" He paused, looking down at Tony who sat with his blueprints in his lap. "What are you doing down here?" The boy didn't seem to be hurried to get his ball back now that he had noticed Tony, in fact he seemed to be curiously peeking at the blueprints in his lap trying to figure them out. Tony scoffed at the boy even thinking he could. "Are you designing a robot?!" Now _that_ took Tony by surprise.

"Err," Tony hesitated. "If I say yes are you going to punch me?" He braced himself, not daring to look at the boy in case.

"No way! Do people do that? Who? Why?!" He spluttered in what seemed to be... Outrage. Tony felt flattered, his heart gave a little burst before he pulled himself back in check. He needed to stop falling for any human being who was slightly decent towards him. 

"Then, err, yes I guess I am." He shrugged meekly and nodded his head towards the ball on the floor. "You gonna get that?" The football guy grinned, Tony got to properly looked at him as he bent down to pick it up and shoved his hair out the way when it felt in his face. He was beautiful. The boy coughed and Tony realised he had been ogling for longer than slightly polite or necessary. 

"Well that's really cool man, anyway I best be off or the guys will have my ass." He indicated towards the field with the ball. "What's your name?"

"Tony." He replied shortly, Tony knew as soon as he gave his name to this guy it would probably end badly. Either he'd know him as the 'Stark kid' and end up being pestered for fame or money or whatever. Or even worse, he'd begin to target Tony just like the rest of the football team did.

"Just Tony?" The guy smirked with a quirked eyebrow, Tony nodded shortly averting his eyes back to the field. "Alright then Just Tony, I'm Bucky. Pleasure to meet ya." He winked with a grin when the bell rang. Tony stood and grabbed his phone off the bleachers. Following Bucky out of the bleachers.

"Hey Bucky, what the fuck are you doing over there man?! You're taking your sweet time getting that damn ball!" A voice hollered, Tony heard cleats rattling by. 

He ducked under the bleachers bar to step out when his hair got caught in the joints, he yelped slightly, grabbing Bucky's attention. 

"Oh my god," He laughed, walking towards Tony with his arm out. "You'da thought if anyone's hair was getting tangled, it'd be mine." He commented as he ran his fingers through the strands of Tony's hair trying to free him. Tony rolled his eyes and yanked his head to the side, wincing at the pain of his hair being pulled out. "I coulda got that."

"My way was quicker." Tony shrugged, behind them another footballer approached, his grin slightly falling as he got closer.

"You skipped out on football practice to go make out with some twink? Jesus, Buck." He groaned. "Could've at least left us with the fucking ball." He groaned grabbing the ball out of Bucky's arms and giving him a light punch and running back across the field. 

"Oh no, this is not happening." Tony groaned into his palms as he saw the footballer pointing to them with the rest of the team, there was a bout of laughter that followed and Tony really wished he had decided to go to M.I.T.

"Hey, Tony, it's fine man. I'll just tell them to knock it off. My best friend is the captain, they have to listen to me." Bucky smiled weakly, attempting to be comforting. Tony groaned even louder.

"Fuck no, this is like the 6th scandal I have had this freaking year. I am tired of being the 'school slut'. You got me into this mess, you're being my boyfriend." Tony crossed his arms stubbornly. 

"I'm- What?" Bucky's eyes bulged like he was a cartoon, he gaped his mouth like a fish out of water. "Woah, woah, woah... You're cute and all but I'm not really the 'dating' type doll. Don't get me wrong, I am flattered but-"

"It's not gonna be freaking real." Tony argued. "I just want, for once, to actually - for all intense purposes - be with the person I have a fucking sex scandal with. It'll be like, a month, tops, once people get bored of us, we'll have a quiet break-up. Say you weren't ready for something serious or that I fucked up and forgot a date and then we'll live our merry single lives and I won't be advertised as this fucking 'playboy' constantly." He whined, and he was aware he was whining but he had gone past the point of caring. He was sick of this goddamn school and Bucky ruined his only safe space so yes, he was being petty but he refused to care right now.

"I mean," Bucky hesitated, calculating what to say next as Tony waited with anticipation. "Okay, deal." Tony grinned and clapped. 

"Oh my god, I seriously didn't think that would work. Man, you must be a real fucking loser to wanna date me."

Bucky groaned, "Seriously?! I just agreed to spend like, an entire month with you and you're starting it off by calling me a loser?! You're quite possible the worst boyfriend I've had." Bucky slung an arm around Tony shoulder and pulled him into a headlock. "Also I'm setting ground rules, you have to eat lunch with me in the cafeteria from now on because eating beneath the bleachers is just plain sad and honestly? I refuse to date anyone that does that."

"Hye! It's not my ideal place to eat either but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to survive in this hellhole." Bucky looked as though he was about to ask a question so Tony quickly changed subject. "Come round my house tonight to go over the basic stuff, if we're seriously dating then we have to know some shit about each other."

"Like each other's last names." Bucky nudged, releasing his headlock but leaving his arm heavy on Tony's shoulder as they approached the locker room. Tony was going to be so late to his next class, he rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, whatever, it's Stark. You'd have found out eventually anyway." Before Bucky had time to react he slipped out from under his arm and ran down towards the main school building. "Meet me outside when school ends!" He yelled, waving a casual arm in the air before disappearing into the main school building.

Bucky scoffed and entered the locker rooms where he swiftly changed into his normal clothing. As he pulled his head through his shirt he discovered Sam resting his shoulder against the locker beside him.

"So... Stark." He began. Bucky threw his stuff into his bag and walked away, slinging it over one shoulder.

"Seems so." He says, aiming to casual but Bucky was never a brilliant liar to begin with. 

"You couldn't have gone for someone less... Problematic?" Sam grinned, opening the door for Bucky.

"Problematic, how?" Bucky scoffed, remembering the way Tony sat curled in a broken desk chair clutching his blueprints.

"The dude gets around Buck," Sam started. "guys, girls, either, neither, sometimes both! He's like the definition of a playboy." Bucky snoted at Sam's concern, his parroting of Tony earlier got Bucky thinking that maybe Tony needed this after all. 

"So what? Tony has me now, while he has me he doesn't need anybody else so what does it matter what was in his past? No one spreads that kinda shit about Rumlow who's slept with over half the female population of the school."

"That's because Rumlow is a piece of shit Buck. No-one wants to cross him." Sam sighs, they sit down in their class seats and he starts to pick out his notebook, hoping the teacher will excuse their tardiness. "I'm just saying that you wanna be careful with Stark that's all." He whispers across Bucky's desk. Bucky rolls his eyes and gives a thumbs up, hoping that'll be the end of the conversation.

xXx

"Bucky!" Tony bellows, and he literally bellows, half the school turn around to see him sat on the bonnet of a vintage sports car with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Baby! Over here!"

Bucky groans and rolls his eyes, he had obviously encountered the whispers through the hallways after the end of lunch but now the cat was well and truly out the bag. He slaps Sam on the shoulder and pulls Steve in for a one-armed hug. "Later guys, it seems my ride is here."

"Didya have to scream so fucking loud?" Bucky groans as he approaches Tony. Tony scoots back on the bonnet and Bucky comes to stand just in front, placing his hand on Tony's knees. "Is this okay?" He says quietly as he steps between Tony's legs. 

"Absolutely. To both questions." Tony grins, he pats Bucky's hands. "But I'm assuming at some point we actually need to get in the car, so as lovely as this position is..." He trails off and nods his head towards the car. Bucky smiles and steps away so Tony can hop down, clicking his key so that the doors swing up into the air.

"Fuck me." Bucky grins.

"That's not part of the package Buckaroo." Tony laughs as he slides into the driver's seat. "Though I can always make amendments."

"Tony, no." Bucky rolls his eyes, he's been doing that a lot when it comes to Tony. He still can't help but grin when the engine purrs and Tony lets out a little whoop.

 

"So this is me," Tony says sarcastically as they drive up a pebbled driveway. Bucky gawps at the mansion ahead of them, partially obstructed by a marble fountain. He's pretty sure he just saw a peacock dance it's way across the blossoming gardens to the side of the house.

"This is fucking insane." Bucky whistles. "I never believed that people really had this kind of money."

"Well, believe it baby." Tony smirks, shutting off the engine and slamming the door, leaving Bucky sat on his own in the car. He shuffles to grab his bag and gets out the car to only see 6 more sports cars lined up beside it. Bucky lets out a silent sigh, he had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to this deal, he hopes he doesn't come to regret this.

Tony opens the door for him, taking his bag and slinging it on a hook that's besides the entrance. "Coud you take your shoes off and leave them here? Jarvis hates it when I wear them in the house." He asks as he kicks his own off into the corner, they land about 5 feet apart but at least in vaguely the same direction. Bucky toes his off and places them side by side, nudging Tony's into place beside his as well.

"Who is Jarvis?" Bucky asks as he looks around at the ornate, and no doubt expensive, decorations along the foyer. There is a large oil painting of a man and a woman, the woman is in a red dress holding a baby. Neither of them are smiling but Bucky can see Tony's features in the man with a moustache. "Is that him?" Bucky points to the man and Tony spits out a guffaw of laughter.

"Fuck no!" He screams from his distance up the stairs, he hangs off one of the railings as Bucky walks at a normal human pace to join him. He has noticed that Tony never does anything slowly, he feel like Tony's mind must move at 100mph to keep up with his body, or maybe it was the other way around. "That's Howard. My father. Grade-A Dickwad!" He bellows the last part and Bucky flinches, looking around, but the statement just seems to bounce off the empty rooms.

"I take it we're home alone." Bucky guesses, as he meets Tony at yet another flight of stairs which swirl upwards. Bucky wonders whether he's unfit and the task of climbing them seems daunting. 

Tony shrugs, "It wouldn't matter if we weren't, if he's anywhere he'll be in his workshop in the basement which is soundproof. And that's only if he's in the country." Tony opens a large wooden door with a swing. There's a large open-plan living area with spider-web style corridors descending from it. "This is my floor, I don't have much in the way of food because Jarvis likes to encourage me to eat in the kitchen but I'm sure he'll have got me some snacks when I told him you were coming over." 

"Oh you needn't have got food in specially Tony," Bucky feels slightly guilty at causing this Jarvis person - whoever he is - to  go out of him way to accommodate him. He didn't even realise he would be staying for dinner, he wonders what sort of thing Tony even eats.

"Chill out, it's only like pop tarts. Hummus and carrot sticks. Caviar. You know, the regular studying snacks." Tony shrugs casually as he flings the fridge open and pulls out two soda cans.

"Caviar?!" Bucky squeaks, watching Tony carelessly open the cans too early and get soda all over the kitchen counter.

"That was a joke," He rolls his eyes as he pulls a sheet of kitchen roll and swipes down the surface. "Rich people can make them too." He crosses his eyes and sticks out his tongue at Bucky. Bucky frowns and grabs one of the cans.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. Quit it with the 'Rich shtick'. It's old now." He grumbles, he follows Tony's lead to a room off one of the corridors, inside is a very regular (in comparison) looking bedroom. Posters are plastered on the wall with the periodic table and solar system, as well as a shirtless poster of Matt Bomer which makes Bucky grin. 

"This is where all the magic happens," Tony leers, as he swings around in a desk chair, narrowly missing knocking off several plant pots from his bedside table. "according to our school at least." 

"Yeah, I got the 'Playboy' talk from Sam today." He mutters, sitting himself on Tony's bed. Tony fiddles with a pen as he spins himself from side to side at his desk. "Told him that we were official, is that okay?" 

"Yeah dude! So far all the gossip has just been that we've been hooking up, so I thought I'd try and establish some sort of story line. Hence, the meeting." He gestures between the two of them. Bucky grins at the formality and lies down, grabbing a solved rubix cube from Tony's bedside and mixing it up again.

"So what about if we say we've been dating for a couple of weeks but decided to keep it secret, then when it came out today we'll go in tomorrow as a 'normal couple'-" Bucky adds air quotes around his rubix cube with his free fingers, "and say that we were only keeping it secret because we were... I don't know, scared of being bullied?"

"I mean, yeah that works. Shall we say we met... at school? Or out of school? Did I hit up you or? And if we've been dating for weeks, what have we been doing? Where have we been going? Oh my god, relationships are hard work." Tony groaned and rubs his eyes, Bucky nods sympathetically.

"Let's try and stick to the truth as close as possible. What about if we say we met during the holidays, that way no-one will have any evidence of what we did for dates cos we can say I came round to your house."

"Okay but then where did we meet, where the fuck do you hang out? I haven't even seen you around school before today."

"I went to that Stark Expo with Stevie, we could say I ran into you and asked you questions about science and you invited me to come over and experiment?" Bucky cringes as he says it out loud, by the look of Tony's dirty grin, the double meaning was not missed on him either. 

"Won't Steve know that that didn't happen? If we're gonna lie to people, we need to lie to everyone. Two people pretending to date is sadder than just telling people we weren't hooking up under the bleachers I was just eating my lunch alone." Tony smiles, there's an edge of self-deprecation to his statement that Bucky can't help but be inclined to agree with. He'd never live it down from the football team, even if he does trust Steve with his life.

"Nah, he went off with Peggy before the finale, I walked around on my own for a good hour before we met back up. We could just say it happened then. That actually works as well because it gives us 2 weeks of fake-dates before we started school so that could be why we didn't come back to school super couple-y."

"Oh my god, you domesticated me. Buckaroo you sly dog." Tony teases, as he throws his pen at Bucky, who dodges it and throws his rubix cube in retaliation. "Okay, here's the good stuff. Now we have to learn everything there is to know about each other in... About an hour." Tony looked at his iPhone. Bucky looked at his phone too and noticed it was already 6pm, he sent a text to his mum that he would be having dinner at Tony's as he didn't want her to make anything for it to be wasted.

"Are we really playing 20 questions, Tony?" Bucky sighed with a laugh.

"You bet your ass we are, how else am I meant to pretend I am hopelessly devoted to you?" Tony sang, Bucky hit him with a pillow and Tony fell onto the bed breathless with laughter. He turned to face Bucky with bright eyes, Bucky swallowed hard watching his eyes dance, Tony averted his eyes and coughed. "So, favourite colour?"

"Brown." Bucky shot back immediately. He faltered for a moment wondering where the fuck that answer came from, Tony ran a hand through his messy curls and laughed once more and it clicked. _Oh._ Oh _no._

"Okayyy, weird. Mine's red. Jot that down." Tony continued, Bucky spent the rest of the evening mindlessly writing down the things Tony was telling him while thinking how he would get through the next month.

xXx

Last night Tony had decided that he was going to pick up Bucky from his house in the mornings so they could ride to school together, he also said that it was his duty as Bucky's boyfriend to attend his after-school football practices despite Bucky's best arguments against it.

Bucky heard a honk of the car horn outside his apartment building, he gave his little sister a kiss on the cheek and mopped up her chin. "See you later bug," He whispered in her ear as she giggled. "See you later Mom!" He shouted to the running shower, he heard a faint "Bye sweetie!" in response before the door shut. 

He met Tony in the car, swinging his bag onto the boot because unsurprisingly Tony had arrived in yet another sports car which only had 2 seats. Bucky grinned and jumped over the door into the seat, despite Tony''s protests of protecting the leather from his grubby combat boots. 

"Sorry." He grinned innocently.

"No you're not." Tony grinned back as he pulled the car out onto the road to school. Tony had travelled out to Brooklyn to collect Bucky despite the fact Tony lived closer to their Manhattan high school. Bucky was just grateful for the chance to get out of the 50 minute subway rides, even if it was for only a month. 

It seemed as though the school had come to a stand still and were all eagerly anticipating their arrival, Bucky was sure that a crowd was forming as Tony revved the engine through the school gates, screeching to a halt in one of the teacher's parking spots. Bucky shook his head, at Tony's wiggled eyebrows when they departed the vehicle.

"You know it's only a quarter of a foot to the pupil's car park." Bucky pointed out, pointing down the school ground to all the second-hand student cars.

"But sugarplum, how would we make our grand romantic entrance?" Tony asked innocently as he clasped Bucky's hand and brought it to his chest dramatically, he heard some gasps from the body of students that were doing a terrible job of being inconspicuous. Bucky raised an eyebrow in retaliation to Tony, asking him a silent question.

They had discussed last night, their boundaries on public displays of affection, Tony had given everything green lights. Or in his terms: "Bucky, if you have to blow me in the middle of the fucking pledge of allegiance to make people think this is legit, then I would pop a boner in the name of America. Seriously."

Tony gave a shy grin and a gentle nod, invisible to anyone that wasn't two centimetres away from him. Bucky approached nervously, he blamed it on the crowd when his hand shook before touching Tony's cheek. 

"I'll show you romantic." He murmured, before catching Tony's lips with his own and pulling him flush to his torso. There was a definite audible gasp from the 'not-crowd' crowd that made Tony break the kiss with a giggle. 

"That line was so bad, I'm in physical pain." Tony groaned, scrunching his face up.

"Oh dear, do you need me to kiss it better?" Bucky laughed, Tony pushed him away with a shaking head. 

"You need to stop or I'm breaking up with you. I can't kiss a mouth that comes out with lines like that." Tony opened the boot and grabbed his satchel as well as Bucky's bag and threw it at him.

"You love what this mouth can do, don't lie." Bucky leered over his shoulder, giving his cheek  a wet kiss that made Tony laugh loudly. Bucky grinned at the sight as they walked between members of the bustling crowd as everyone started begrudgingly making their way to their classes. 

"Mmm, keep telling yourself that babydoll." Bucky shook his head fiercely. "Angelface?" Frown. "Precious lump?" Bucky crossed his arms defiantly. "Okay, okay, I'll work on the pet names," Tony leaned in to peck Bucky on the side of the mouth in the corridor, Bucky followed his mouth subconsciously. "See you later... Sugar lips." Tony squealed with laughter as Bucky growled and reached out to grab him from running down the corridor. Bucky narrowly missed and Tony turned around to wave a hand above his head briefly before continuing on his way to registration. 

Bucky shook his head as he wandered into his own class, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He was surprised by how easily things fell into place with Tony, he sometimes forgot it was all fake. Steve pulled his bag from the chair beside him and Bucky replaced it's spot. 

"Were you gonna tell me about you and Tony or were you just gonna ensure everyone else and their mother knew first?" Steve moaned, as he passed Bucky an apple. Bucky took a bite and shot Steve an apologetic look.

"It wasn't meant to happen like this, we're only out in school now because someone caught us. I would've told you eventually." Bucky tried to reason, he felt so guilty, lying to his brother. Steve was the first person Bucky had ever told about even liking boys, Bucky wavers on whether he should just come clean because he doesn't know if he is physically capable of lying to Steve's face for an entire month.

"Oh. I didn't know that's why you were out. I'm sorry Buck, that sucks." Steve shrank into himself, clearly done with the act of being angry with Bucky, he put an arm around Bucky's shoulder and squeezed. "Just as long as you're happy, I'm happy. I wish you could've told me without the circumstances forcing it."

Bucky gulped, "Thanks Steve." He said quietly, squeezing his shoulder back before letting go. Steve smiled and pulled out his notebook.

"And are you?"

"Am I what?" Bucky asked blankly, looking through the notes he had taken yesterday with Tony and turning the page quickly.

"Happy?" Steve insisted, nudging his shoulder.

"Yeah Stevie, he makes me really fucking happy." Bucky sighed truthfully, forcing a smile. Steve raised an eyebrow but class begun so he diverted attention to the teacher. Bucky let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding and tried to forget about anything other than calculus. 

xXx

"Hey, I was thinking... You should come to my mum's charity ball with me." Tony said casually one day. They had been 'fake dating' for just over 2 weeks and people had started to turn a blind eye to them now, it was almost as though they were a part of the furniture instead of the grand spectacle they were when the charade begun. The lines were beginning to blur for Bucky as he noticed more and more often Tony would take his hand in secluded areas of the school, or call him a nickname when they hung out in private - and the amount they did that was increasing to the point that Bucky's mom had asked to be introduced to whoever it was that was taking up so much of his time.

"Charity ball?" Bucky questioned, he turned his head which was laid in Tony's lap so that he could look at Tony. Tony smiled down at him gently and intertwined their fingers.

"Yeah, you could be my date. Those things are always so boring. Plus it'd be an excuse to get you in a tux. I'd get to see your great ass in something tailored, win-win." Tony says casually as he leans back against the tree.

"Hey now, hang on a second, where's the win for me?" Bucky grins poking Tony in the cheek with their interlocked hands.

"Well you'd get to spend an entire evening with me." Tony states, as though it's obvious. "Also, my ass also looks great in a tux so there's that as a bargaining chip if it's working." He grins and tries to bite Bucky's fingers.

"When is it?" Bucky enquires, pulling their hand back down onto this chest and rubbing Tony's palm with his thumb. He turns his head ans watches the other students on the field as they sit eating their lunch and playing ball games in the sun. He and Tony are in a relatively secluded spot, shaded by the tree, it's one of the reasons he finds himself getting lost in the facade of the relationship. He doesn't understand that why if they're meant to be publicly dating, all their interactions are taking place in the shadows?

"This weekend. Saturday night. I can bring the suit to you on Friday, pick you up and take you home. All you have to do is be there. Please, please, please come. I'm not above begging." Tony threatens as he places his other hand over Bucky's so that it is encased in his hold. He kisses Bucky's hand with every repetition of please until Bucky shoves his face away.

"You know I'll say yes, I always say yes to you. Obviously I'll come." Bucky groans reluctantly but is secretly pleased when Tony grabs his face and plants a kiss on his lips. 

"You're the best boyfriend in the world, you won't regret this!" He grins, he grabs his bag from his side and withdraws his legs from underneath Bucky, forcing him to sit up.

"I can almost guarantee I will." Bucky complains as he takes the hand Tony thrusts towards him and pulls himself to stand. He kisses Tony once more, but deeply and slowly, letting himself pretend it's all real. "But what have I got to lose?" 

Tony smiles and rests his forehead against Bucky's, they stand like that for a second before the bell rings and they part. "Let's go baby blossom." Bucky shoves Tony for the nickname but immediately draws him back in again, they join the queue of students into the school doors. "Hey, do you still want a ride tonight after your game?"

"If you're still willing." Bucky says casually, bypassing his own classroom and continuing to Tony's.

"Obviously." Tony rolls his eyes like he always does when Bucky asks permission for things. "I made a poster for you as well. This one is even better than last weeks!" He grins excitedly and Bucky kisses the grin away, Tony's touch feels electric.

"At least tell me you didn't put any swear words on it this time, I don't want us to get kicked out the league because you made another sign about my dick." Bucky groans remembering the way Tony proudly hollered in the bleachers with a glitter glue sign that said " _The goal post isn't the only place Bucky puts his balls!_ "

"Okay but that was hilarious and you know it. And you loved it." Tony crosses his arms firmly, Bucky pulls at them with a laugh.

"But coach didn't. Honey, please, just promise me it's at least PG-13 this time." Bucky sighed as Tony released his arms and Bucky grabbed for his hand. Tony didn't seem to notice the slip of the pet-name or at least, if he did he must of thought Bucky was 'in character' because he didn't draw any attention to it. 

"...Fine. I'll make it kid-friendly." Bucky scoffed at Tony's put upon sigh and shoved him into the classroom. Tony sauntered to his chair n turned back with a wink when he saw Bucky stood at the doorway watching him.

xXx

Bucky was tying his bow tie in the mirror when the recognisable car horn voiced itself outside. He quickly doused himself in aftershave before skirting his way through the house. There was a knock at the door, which Bucky's mom answered.

"Hi Mrs Barnes, I'm Tony." Bucky heard muffled from the bathroom as he ran his fingers through his hair. He ran to the lounge to see his mom grinning at Tony and admiring his suit. When he stepped forward, Tony's eyes immediately raked the length on his body which made Bucky suddenly feel self-conscious in a way he never had before. Tony let out a low whistle.

"Mrs Barnes, I'll have to congratulate you on the art in your lounge." Tony said smoothly, watching in delight as Bucky blushed. 

"Okay, we are leaving." Bucky said, willing his blush to disappear in the presence of his mom. She chuckled and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, following suit with Tony.

"It was lovely to meet you Tony, it'd be a pleasure to have you over again. Maybe for dinner one evening?" She queried with a hopeful lilt to her voice. Tony grinned and nodded his head eagerly, Bucky felt his heart wilt at the prospect of telling his mom that they are broken up in less than a weeks time. He grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him out of the door.

"That would be wonderful Mrs Barnes, take care!" Tony yelled on his way out.

"I love your mom." Tony commented happily as he held the door open for Bucky, looking wistfully up into the apartment window and waving undoubtedly at Rebecca in the window and pulling a funny face. 

"Yeah, well I do too, and I hate lyin' to her." Bucky said angrily, pulling his seat belt across himself, waiting for Tony to follow suit.

"Okay...?" Tony gave him a weird look and shook his head. "Good for you?" He stated, like a question. Bucky slumped and folded his arms. 

"Look it ain't my fault that your parents are never home to meet me but mine are and I'd rather them not get attached to someone I'm literally not going to have in my life in a week's time. It's enough that I have to deal with that. I don't want her gettin' attached." He explained glumly, staring out the car window as Tony for once drove aggravatingly slowly through the city.

"Wow, okay, err... Great. Thank you." Tony did a double take at Bucky, watching him for any explanation for the outburst and shrugged. "Well this is going to be a really fun night isn't it. You know, considering you're spending the entire thing with someone you never want to see again and I'm going to be there with my parents who don't love me.. Obviously." He spat angrily and forced his car to shoot up several gears as he sped along the back roads.

"Tony, stop, I didn't mean it like that. I didn't mean any of it... I'm just-" Bucky paused, suffering with coming to words, he didn't know how he felt or how to even put how he felt into words. "I'm just tired."

"Right, sure, whatever, it's forgotten." Tonny said shortly. Pulling up in front of a large ornate event hall. 

"No, Tony, I don't want to forget it. I want to discuss this. Please talk to me." Bucky begged holding onto Tony's arm, Tony shrugged it off and opened his door.

"We don't really have time to talk. When you get out the car - smile." Tony said and immediately as his door came up there was a burst of flashes, Bucky pressed his palms into his eyes and breathed deeply before stepping out with a false grin. Tony came round to his side and for a very brief second Bucky forgot they had been fighting because he saw Tony reach out to him with a smile, but as Tony got closer and falsely sorted his collar he realised the smile didn't meet Tony's eyes. 

"Tony," Bucky whispered brokenly. Tony just smiled and kissed him on the cheek, there was another round of flashes. 

"I swear I didn't know there were going to be photographers in the car park, I thought they'd only be round the entrance." Tony whispered in his ear before pulling away. Bucky stroked his cheek softly with a bitter smile.

"I don't care about the photographers Tony, please just drop the act with me. Let's go somewhere. Anywhere. And just talk!" Bucky pleaded quietly, out of hearing range from the photographers.

"Sure." Tony put his 'public' smile on once again and pulled Bucky with their interlocked elbows towards the hall "I always hide out at these events. I'll find us a room." Bucky was beginning to hate the sight of Tony's fake smile and cursed himself for ever confusing it with the real thing.

Tony managed to secure a tiny office-space area that Bucky was pretty sure had an 'Out Of Bounds' sign across it's door before it encountered Tony. 

"Okay this'll do." Tony said as he flicked the lights on and they flashed on sporadically before lighting the room a sterile white. Tony lent against the desk on the right, there were 3 more in the room, spread out with plants dividing their individual spaces. "Whatever you need to say, can you make it quick? I do actually need to see my mom tonight. I promised her I'd come."

"Tony, please." Bucky sighed, pulling the chair out beside the desk and sitting facing him. He reached out to pull Tony's crossed arms apart and Tony jerked away and stood at the adjacent desk. Bucky turn to face him once more and frowned apologetically. "Look this is really hard for me."

"You shouldn't have agreed to come then." Tony bit, looking at his nails.

"Not this," Bucky gestured to the room around them. " _This_." He indicated between them both. Tony just shot him a questioning look. "Tony, this isn't fake to me. My feelings for you haven't been fake since the day I met you. It's _so_ hard to play this game with you every day knowing that it has an expiration date. Knowing that you're going to be able to up and leave in a weeks time and I'm going to be just as hopelessly in love with you then as I was this entire month. Except then I don't get to touch you, or talk to you, or see you, or be near you. That's why I was so angry you met my mom. Because now my mom knows you, it makes it tangible that this is coming to an end. That I have to let you go. And I don't want to." Bucky whimpered pathetically, he knew he was being pathetic. He couldn't even look Tony in the eye, there were already tears staining his cheeks and he'd rather not sit through a brutal rejection from the boy he had come to love.

"So, don't." Tony said quietly. Stepping forward towards Bucky. Bucky's eyes gravitated towards him, like they always do. He looked sharp in his tux, all tailored edges and cut lines but his face was soft and open. he was smiling.

"What do you mean?" Bucky brushed his face with the back of his palm and sniffed. Pulling himself together again.

"Don't let me go." Tony stated simply, coming to stand in front of Bucky's knees, tapping at one knee for invitation. Bucky opened his thighs for Tony to stand between. "Because I am so horrendously, undoubtedly, quite disgustingly - if I say so myself - in love with you, James Barnes. This has always been the real deal to me. I guess, I forgot to catch you up on that." He shrugged sheepishly as he held Bucky's face in his palms. "This was never fake. With you, I was never fake. You have to believe me." He said as he brought his face closer Bucky's breath hitched as their noses touched.

"I believe you." He breathed, and Tony stole his breath with a kiss.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I watched To All The Boys I loved Before and then this happened....
> 
> this is un-beta'd and i wrote it at midnight so if there are any errors, please lmk and i will attempt to change them


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